MOVEMENT PATTERNS

stage, where lateral movement predomi- nates (Figure 3). (There are several other stages of development between the fish

Figure 1

and reptilian stages that are beyond the scope of this article). Reptilian movement supersedes several preparatory phases that provide developmental chunks in sensory/motor sequencing and occurs through a cross extensor/cross flexor pattern, with the arms and legs integrat- ing with the trunk. In this way, the infant learns how to activate and use their core to integrate the arms and legs (figure 1). The lateral crawling phase can be disrupt- ed when parents keep infants in cribs or small playpens in an attempt to keep them in one place, or place them upright in walkers or jolly-jumpers before they are naturally trying to stand up. If the tonic/phasic system is not allowed to fully differentiate, then the postural system that supports a human in the upright position is not properly devel- oped. This can lead to total body prona- tion; typically resulting in flat feet, forward head posture and mouth breath- ing in the child, adolescent and adult

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significant postural issues that contribute to musculoskeletal disorders and sub- optimal athletic performance later in life. These are all issues I often see if my clients, whom then have to learn the crawling patterns again to reprogramme their neuromuscular software (Figures 2a+b).

The reptilian stage with its lateral domi- nant movement patterns of the spine is also coupled with rotation as a byproduct of

the coupled motions of human

arthrokinematics; earlier, preparation for this stage comes through the use of the axial system as a means of locomotion, seen in the infant as it learns to roll over and makes its way across the crib with lit- tle support from the limbs. In the adult this is related to gait, which is heavily dependent upon axial rotation for optimal motor efficiency. If the reptilian stage of development is missing, the adult will have poor systems for managing rotation and is often deficient in frontal plane sta- bility, leading to abnormalities in gait; related problems often arise if the adult decides to take up distance running, or any sport that involves a lot of running, or any activity where the motor system is dynamically challenged.

The mammalian stage, with its hands-and- knees crawling pattern, activates the tho- racic curvature and the dominant plane of motion is flexion/extension. Hard floors can impede this phase; to avoid sore knees the infant develops a 'bear walking' system of movement using hands and feet. Both reptilian and mammalian crawl- ing phases pump and nourish the viscera and are important for emergent biological rhythms. Biological rhythms such as respi- ration, digestion and elimination are influenced by musculoskeletal pump sys- tems (particularly those involving the inner unit

the pelvic floor, transversus

abdominus and diaphragm) and therefore dependent upon a normal motor system created by proper infant development.

The brachiation stage, or arm phase, occurs around eight months after birth when the child pulls itself upright and brings the spine into a vertical position. Figure 3 shows a typical sequence, which the astute health/exercise professional will see closely resembles a lunge! Similarly, Figure 4, another common infant movement, looks suspiciously like a squat. If this (or any prior) phase of infant development is incomplete, the adult generally will have issues lunging or

Figure 3

Figure 4

squatting properly and will fall over or fall into a pronation pattern when trying to perform these movement patterns.

The neocortical stage is stimulated by walking, leading to integrated activity in the neocortex; the part of the brain responsible for higher thinking, advanced learning, creative, musical and artistic pursuits.

These stages are all critical in the devel- opment of efficient human movement, yet these natural stages of human develop- ment are commonly arrested or retarded by: ■ Environmental restriction ■ Nutritional deficiency/disorder ■ Gastrointestinal or visceral inflamma- tion in general

■ Disease ■ Faulty motor programming induced by parents and siblings; encouraging a child to walk before it can do it on its own is the most commonly induced fault I see clinically.

Only when optimal infant development exists can Primal Pattern movements be effectively developed.

Figure 2a www.sportex.net Figure 2b

PRIMAL PATTERN MOVEMENTS Squat Squatting (Figure 5) is an integral part of everyone's lifestyle! We squat to sit down, get in a car, go to the toilet and get into bed. The human physiology is designed to allow us to squat so our hands reach the floor and a flick through any National Geographic magazine will show you pic- tures of native people doing just that. Advances in civilisation created inven- tions that eliminated the need to live, eat and work from the floor and nowadays the seated workplace is the most common

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